US professor identifies “harmful” ingredients

Lesley Foottit
· 27 July, 2015

Obesity is a growing problem

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Bakery ingredients such as emulsifiers, fat and sugar could be creating harmful cycles within the human body, new evidence has shown.

Andrew Gewirtz, university centre professor at Georgia State University, said in a session at annual meeting and food expo IFT 2015 that following a collaborative study he believed emulsifiers may be harmful to human gut microbiota, causing inflammatory bowel disease, obesity and other issues, according to BakeryandSnacks.com.

Another study by KR Magnusson et al from Oregon State University said that fat and sugar in excess can also cause problems in the gut microbiota that leads to short- and long-term memory loss.

Gewirtz said the increased use of emulsifiers, used to stabilise processed food, baked goods and confectionery, may have contributed to the rise of diabetes and other disorders.

Earlier this year it was reported that trans fats can cause memory loss.